Catholic hospitals and existing religious restrictions on abortion are currently co-existing with post-Roe abortion bans across the U.S. And, in states where abortion is still accessible, Catholic hospitals are still a sizable barrier to accessing compassionate, evidence-based medical care. Amy Littlefield, Abortion Access Correspondent at the Nation, sits down with us to discuss how trauma previously seen at Catholic hospitals when trying to access sexual and reproductive healthcare is now being seen on a more general scale.   

Catholic hospitals up 1 in 6 acute-care hospital beds and generally follow rules written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. These rules ban abortion, fail to promote or condone contraceptive practices, ban direct sterilization of men and women, and deny care to transgender patients. Patients often don’t know they requesting care from a Catholic hospital, or that the few hospitals in their area have a religious affiliation or have merged with health systems that have a religious affiliation. For a deeper dive into care offered by Catholic hospitals, find the past podcast episode here.

Before the overturning of Roe, stories out of Catholic or religiously affiliated hospitals included patients having to wait in extreme pain while ethics review boards debated termination, patients having to demonstrate that they were “sick enough” or “deserving enough” for appropriate care, and more. Post-Roe, similar stories are being reported—more generally—at an alarming frequency around the country. Five women in Texas, who were pregnant with wanted pregnancies, were subjected to varying degrees of state-sanctioned torture as they sought necessary abortion care. The Center for Reproductive Rights is currently suing the state on their behalf. Savita Halappanavar died in Ireland after being denied an abortion and developing sepsis as a result. Medical systems waiting for pregnant patients to be “sick enough” or “close enough to death,” endangers and kills people who need and have a right to basic healthcare, including abortion.

Links

The Southern Hospitals Report: Faith, Culture, and Abortion Bans in the US South
A Miscarrying Woman Nearly Died After a Catholic Hospital Sent Her Home Three Times
Two friends were denied care after Florida banned abortion. One almost died.

For more information, check out Aborsh: https://www.aborsh.com/

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